The imperative ·19·

MOOD Imperative
TIME Refers to the present
KEY PHRASES Any command
STRUCTURE Simple: verb base ⫹ verb ending

The imperative deals with a single aspect of the language—giving commands. We

call the imperative a mood rather than a tense, because commands do not vary
according to time as the tenses do. The only time frame involved in a command is
“now,” as in “Clean your room now.”
Statements in the imperative are direct. There are no qualifiers, such as “I
want you to clean your room” or “You should clean your room.” The message is
straightforward, often containing only one word—“Go!” “Stop!” “Look!” “Wait!”
“Listen!”
The understood recipient of any command is “you.” Even when admonishing
yourself to do something, you are speaking to yourself as “you” (the tú form in
Spanish). We can, however, also give “we” commands, which in English usually
begin with “let’s”—“Let’s dance,” “Let’s eat,” “Let’s go.”
This chapter covers commands in five sections: a section for each of the four
forms of “you” in Spanish (tú, usted, vosotros, and ustedes), and a fifth section
for “we,” or nosotros, commands. Verbs for which the affirmative command
(“Go!”) differs from the negative command (“Don’t go!”) in Spanish will be cov-
ered, as will the use of object pronouns with commands.
One final note: Work with the imperative establishes a good foundation for
working with the present subjunctive, which is introduced in the next chapter.

tú commands
Regular affirmative commands
A regular affirmative command is formed by simply dropping the s from the
second-person singular conjugated form, as follows.
Hablas. You speak. ⬎ ¡Habla! Speak!
Comes. You eat. ⬎ ¡Come! Eat!
Vives. You live. ⬎ ¡Vive! Live!

197
 EJERCICIO

19 ·1
Traducción Rewrite the following affirmative commands in Spanish, using tú
commands.

1. Study! 11. Sell!

2. Work! 12. Pay!
3. Look! 13. Suffer!
4. Listen! 14. Count!
5. Read! 15. Fly!
6. Run! 16. Begin!
7. Walk! 17. Think!
8. Dance! 18. Sleep!
9. Write! 19. Continue!
10. Decide! 20. Confess!

Regular negative commands

A regular negative command is formed as follows.
1 Begin with the present tense first-person singular (yo) form of the verb.
2 Remove the -o ending. This is called the “yo stem.”
3 For -ar verbs, add -es. For -er and -ir verbs, add -as.
EXAMPLES hablo ⬎ habl- ⬎ hables
como ⬎ com- ⬎ comas
escribo ⬎ escrib- ⬎ escribas
¡No hables! Don’t speak! ¡No compres el pescado! Don’t buy the fish!
¡No comas! Don’t eat! ¡No vendas la casa! Don’t sell the house!
¡No escribas! Don’t write! ¡No abras la puerta! Don’t open the door!
note When the yo form ends in -oy, such as in estar, the -oy is removed to form the “yo stem.”

Standard orthographic (spelling) changes

Before the letter e, the following orthographic changes come into play.
◆ c ⬎ qu
No tocas el piano. ⬎ ¡No toques el piano!
You don’t play the piano. Don’t play the piano!
◆ g ⬎ gu
No juegas al béisbol. ⬎ ¡No juegues al béisbol!
You don’t play baseball. Don’t play baseball!

198 practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses

 ◆ z ⬎ c
No comienzas. ⬎ ¡No comiences!
You don’t begin. Don’t begin!

EJERCICIO

19·2
Traducción Rewrite the following negative commands in Spanish, using tú
commands.

1. Don’t look!
2. Don’t sing!
3. Don’t study!
4. Don’t run!
5. Don’t think!
6. Don’t drink the water!
7. Don’t arrive late!
8. Don’t practice now!
9. Don’t pay the bill!
10. Don’t organize the papers!
11. Don’t read my diary!
12. Don’t dance on the table!
13. Don’t open the windows!
14. Don’t admit anything!
15. Don’t believe anything!

Irregular tú commands
There are very few verbs that have irregular commands in the tú form. Listed below are the most
common infinitives for these verbs, with both their affirmative and negative command forms.
INFINITIVE AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

decir di no digas
hacer haz no hagas
ir ve no vayas
poner pon no pongas
salir sal no salgas
ser sé no seas
tener ten no tengas
venir ven no vengas

The imperative 199

 EJERCICIO

19 · 3
Traducción Rewrite the following irregular commands in Spanish, using tú
commands.

1. Put the book here!

2. Tell the truth!
3. Make the bed!
4. Leave the house!
5. Come to the kitchen!
6. Be kind!
7. Go to the living room!
8. Have the money by tomorrow!
9. Don’t put the shoes on the table!
10. Don’t say anything!
11. Don’t make the beds!
12. Don’t leave now!
13. Don’t come tomorrow!
14. Don’t be selfish!
15. Don’t go shopping today!
16. Don’t have animals in the house!

Affirmative commands with object pronouns

With an affirmative command, the object pronoun(s) are attached directly to the end of the verb
in its imperative form.
¡Estúdialo! Study it! ¡Hazme un favor! Do me a favor!
¡Tráemelo! Bring it to me! ¡Dinos el secreto! Tell us the secret!
¡Déme el libro! Give me the book! ¡Levántate! Stand up!
¡Déjame en paz! Leave me alone! ¡Tráigame el libro! Bring me the book!
Note that the original stress pattern is retained for pronunciation. In Spanish words that end with
a vowel, an n, or an s, the natural stress falls on the next-to-last syllable. When the addition of an
object pronoun (or pronouns) would affect the original stress pattern, a written accent is added
so that the stress remains on the originally stressed syllable. For the verb dar, the command form
dé often retains its written accent with an object pronoun attached, although the original stress
would be retained without it.
Habla. He speaks. ¡Habla! Speak! ¡Háblame! Speak to me!
Mira. He looks. ¡Mira! Look! ¡Míralos! Look at them!
Come. He eats. ¡Come! Eat! ¡Cómelo! Eat it!

200 practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses

 When two object pronouns are involved, remember the RID rule:
Reflexive, Indirect, Direct
A reflexive pronoun precedes an indirect or direct object pronoun, and an indirect object pro-
noun precedes a direct object pronoun. If both the indirect and direct object pronouns begin with
the letter l, the indirect pronoun changes to se, as in the last example below. (This rule for the
order of object pronouns applies for all imperatives—tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes, and nosotros
commands.)
¡Dímelo! Tell it to me! ¡Cómpratelo! Buy it for yourself!
¡Dámelas! Give them to me! ¡Dáselo! Give it to him!

EJERCICIO

19· 4
Traducción Rewrite the following affirmative commands in Spanish, using tú
commands.

1. Buy it [m.]!
2. Sell it [f.]!
3. Sit down!
4. Go to bed!
5. Take a bath!
6. Tell me a story!
7. Put it [m.] here!
8. Go away!
9. Put them [f.] there!
10. Leave us alone!
11. Tell it [m.] to us!
12. Write it [f.] to me!
13. Sing it [f.] to her!
14. Buy it [m.] for me!
15. Do it [m.] for yourself!

Negative commands with object pronouns

With a negative command, the object pronoun(s) precede the verb in its imperative form. The
object pronoun is independent of the verb. When there are two object pronouns, the RID rule
applies.
¡No me mires! Don’t look at me! ¡No lo hagas! Don’t do it!
¡No le des el dinero! Don’t give him the money! ¡No se lo digas! Don’t tell it to him!
¡No lo pongas allí! Don’t put it there! ¡No los compres! Don’t buy them!

The imperative 201

 EJERCICIO

19 · 5
Traducción Rewrite the following negative commands in Spanish, using tú
commands.

1. Don’t read it [m.]!

2. Don’t drink it [f.]!
3. Don’t kiss it [m.]!
4. Don’t tell me lies!
5. Don’t lie to me!
6. Don’t go away!
7. Don’t stand up!
8. Don’t take a shower!
9. Don’t go to bed!
10. Don’t hate me!
11. Don’t give it [f.] to him!
12. Don’t tell it [m.] to them!
13. Don’t sell it [m.] to us!
14. Don’t read it [m.] to me!
15. Don’t sing it [f.] to her!

usted commands
Regular commands
Regular usted commands have a single form for both affirmative and negative commands. They
are formed as follows.
1 Begin with the present tense first-person singular (yo) form of the verb.
2 Remove the -o ending. This is called the “yo stem.”
3 For -ar verbs, add -e. For -er and -ir verbs, add -a. (Remember to incorporate the stan-
dard orthographic changes.)
EXAMPLES hablo ⬎ habl- ⬎ hable
como ⬎ com- ⬎ coma
escribo ⬎ escrib- ⬎ escriba
¡Hable! Speak! ¡Ponga! Put! ¡Esté! Be!
¡Coma! Eat! ¡Tenga! Have! ¡Dé! Give!
¡Escriba! Write! ¡Traiga! Bring! ¡Comience! Begin!

202 practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses

 note When the yo form ends in -oy, such as in estar, the -oy is removed to form the “yo stem.”
Both estar and dar have third-person usted command forms that would be identical to other
words with the same spelling. Therefore, the command forms carry an accent mark to distinguish
them (dé, as distinct from de (“of, from”); esté, as distinct from este (“this”)).

EJERCICIO

19·6
Traducción Rewrite the following regular commands in Spanish, using usted
commands. Assume that the object pronoun “it” is always masculine.

1. Sing!
2. Sell!
3. Count!
4. Pay!
5. Run!
6. Do it!
7. Play the piano!
8. Read it!
9. Bring it here!
10. Stand up!
11. Give it to me!
12. Tell it to me!
13. Don’t tell me a lie!
14. Don’t wait for us!
15. Don’t rob the bank!
16. Give me the money!
17. Sit down!
18. Put it there!
19. Don’t do it!
20. Tell him a story!

Irregular commands
There are only three irregular usted commands.
ir ¡Vaya! Go!
saber ¡Sepa! Know!
ser ¡Sea! Be!

The imperative 203

 EJERCICIO

19 ·7
Traducción Rewrite the following irregular commands in Spanish, using usted
commands.

1. Go away!
2. Know it [m.]!
3. Be good!
4. Don’t go away!
5. Don’t be bad [f.]!
6. Don’t go to the party!
7. Know everything for tomorrow!
8. Go to the front of the room!

ustedes commands
Ustedes commands are nearly identical to usted commands, the only difference being an n added
to the end for the plural form. The same form is used for both affirmative and negative com-
mands. This is true for all verbs, whether regular or irregular.
¡Hablen! Speak! ¡Váyanse! Go away!
¡No coman! Don’t eat! ¡Sépanlo! Know it!
¡Escriban! Write! ¡Sean amables! Be kind!
note The ustedes form is used in both formal and informal situations in Spanish America.

EJERCICIO

19 · 8
Traducción Rewrite the following commands in Spanish, using ustedes commands.

1. Work!
2. Think!
3. Don’t do that!
4. Don’t leave!
5. Sit down!
6. Put them [m.] here!
7. Don’t tell me anything!
8. Play the piano!
9. Play baseball!
10. Bring me the food!
11. Tell him the secret!

204 practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses

 12. Don’t go away angry [f.]!
13. Go to bed!
14. Wash your hands!
15. Brush your teeth!

vosotros commands
Regular affirmative commands
A regular affirmative vosotros command is formed by simply dropping the r from the infinitive
and adding the letter d. This is true for all verbs except reflexives.
¡Trabajad! Work! ¡Decídmelo! Tell it to me!
¡Bebed! Drink! ¡Traednos la foto! Bring us the photo!
¡Escribid! Write! ¡Sed simpáticos! Be kind!
¡Sabedlo! Know it! ¡Idos! Go away!
The affirmative vosotros command for a reflexive verb is formed by attaching the reflexive pro-
noun directly to the same stem (infinitive minus r). No d is added to the stem before attaching
the pronoun.
¡Levantaos! Stand up! ¡Sentaos! Sit down!
¡Acostaos! Go to bed! ¡Callaos! Be quiet!
note The informal vosotros command is used only in Spain.

EJERCICIO

19· 9
Traducción Rewrite the following affirmative commands in Spanish, using vosotros
commands.

1. Fly!
2. Return!
3. Come!
4. Stop!
5. Run!
6. Boil the water!
7. Sleep!
8. Read it [m.]!
9. Go to the store!
10. Put it [f.] in the house!
11. Do us a favor!
12. Arrive at ten o’clock!

The imperative 205

 Regular negative commands
Regular negative vosotros commands are formed as follows.
-ar VERBS Add -éis to the “yo stem.”
-er VERBS Add -áis to the “yo stem.”
-ir VERBS Add -áis to the “yo stem.”
¡No trabajéis! Don’t work! ¡No me lo digáis! Don’t tell it to me!
¡No bebáis! Don’t drink! ¡No nos traigáis nada! Don’t bring us anything!
¡No escribáis! Don’t write! ¡No se lo deis! Don’t give it to him!
Note that the negative vosotros commands of ir, saber, and ser mirror that of the usted com-
mands for these verbs.
ir ¡No vayáis conmigo! Don’t go with me!
saber ¡No sepáis todo! Don’t know everything!
ser ¡No seáis antipáticos! Don’t be mean!

Negative commands for stem-changing -ir verbs

For negative vosotros commands, stem-changing -ir verbs show stem changes of e ⬎ i and
o ⬎ u.
pedir ¡No pidáis! Don’t request! dormir ¡No durmáis! Don’t sleep!
servir ¡No sirváis! Don’t serve! morirse ¡No os muráis! Don’t die!
seguir ¡No sigáis! Don’t follow! repetir ¡No repitáis! Don’t repeat!

EJERCICIO

19 ·10
Traducción Rewrite the following negative commands in Spanish, using vosotros
commands.

1. Don’t eat!
2. Don’t speak!
3. Don’t play here!
4. Don’t sing!
5. Don’t sleep in the park!
6. Don’t boil the water!
7. Don’t fall asleep!
8. Don’t leave!
9. Don’t take the money!
10. Don’t follow me!
11. Don’t go to bed!
12. Don’t go away!

206 practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses

nosotros commands
Both affirmative and negative nosotros (“we”) commands generally translate as “let’s” statements
in English: “Let’s eat,” “Let’s dance,” “Let’s go.” Regular nosotros commands are formed as
follows.
1 Begin with the present tense first-person singular (yo) form of the verb.
2 Remove the -o ending. This is called the “yo stem.”
3 For -ar verbs, add -emos. For -er and -ir verbs, add -amos. (Remember to incorporate the
standard orthographic changes.)
EXAMPLES hablo ⬎ habl- ⬎ hablemos
como ⬎ com- ⬎ comamos
escribo ⬎ escrib- ⬎ escribamos
¡Hablemos! Let’s talk!
¡Comamos! Let’s eat!
¡Escribamos! Let’s write!
note When the yo form ends in -oy, such as in estar, the -oy is removed to form the “yo stem.”
This pattern has been presented several times in this chapter. Knowing this pattern will help
greatly in the study of the present subjunctive.

Notable characteristics of commands

1 Stem-changing verbs—except stem-changing -ir verbs—do not change in the nosotros
form.
¡Contemos el dinero! Let’s count the money!
¡Pensemos! Let’s think!
¡Movamos los muebles! Let’s move the furniture!
¡Volvamos! Let’s return!
2 Stem-changing -ir verbs show the following changes in nosotros commands.
o > ue VERBS The o changes to u. EXAMPLE dormir ¡Durmamos! Let’s sleep!
e > ie VERBS The e changes to i. mentir ¡Mintamos! Let’s lie!
e > i VERBS The e changes to i. pedir ¡Pidamos! Let’s ask!
3 Verbs ending with -car, -gar, and -zar make the necessary standard orthographic changes
where needed (c ⬎ qu, g ⬎ gu, z ⬎ c).
¡Toquemos el piano! Let’s play the piano!
¡Paguemos la cuenta! Let’s pay the bill!
¡Comencemos! Let’s begin!
4 With reflexive verbs, drop the s of the conjugated verb before adding nos. Otherwise, add
all object pronouns directly to the end of the conjugated form.
Levantemos ⫹ nos = ¡Levantémonos! Let’s stand up!
Sentemos ⫹ nos = ¡Sentémonos! Let’s sit down!
Acostemos ⫹ nos = ¡Acostémonos! Let’s go to bed!

The imperative 207

 5 To form a negative nosotros command, just add no before the verb.
¡No trabajemos! Let’s not work!
¡No volemos! Let’s not fly!
¡No nos bañemos! Let’s not take a bath!

EJERCICIO

19 ·11
Traducción Rewrite the following regular commands in Spanish, using nosotros
commands.

1. Let’s study!
2. Let’s walk!
3. Let’s not study!
4. Let’s not eat!
5. Let’s sell the car!
6. Let’s do something!
7. Let’s not do anything!
8. Let’s eat lunch!
9. Let’s put the dog outside!
10. Let’s sing to them!
11. Let’s not lie!
12. Let’s not begin now!
13. Let’s tell the truth!
14. Let’s not say anything!
15. Let’s buy it [m.]!

There are only three verbs with irregular nosotros commands (though ir has both reflexive and
nonreflexive forms). Note that ir has different affirmative and negative forms.
ir ¡Vamos! Let’s go! ¡No vayamos! Let’s not go!
irse ¡Vámonos! Let’s go away! ¡No nos vayamos! Let’s not go away!
saber ¡Sepamos! Let’s know! ¡No sepamos! Let’s not know!
ser ¡Seamos! Let’s be! ¡No seamos! Let’s not be!

208 practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses

 EJERCICIO

19·12
Traducción Rewrite the following irregular commands in Spanish, using nosotros
commands.

1. Let’s know everything!

2. Let’s be kind!
3. Let’s not go to the party!
4. Let’s go away tonight!
5. Let’s not be cowards (el cobarde)!
6. Let’s go to the movies tomorrow!
7. Let’s be honest people!
8. Let’s not go away this afternoon!

The imperative 209